Captain America: Civil War – Adding a New Dynamic to Marvel Films

It’s not a particularly new scenario to see two comic book heroes waging war against each other. The seismic battle however, between Captain America and Iron Man brought a new dynamic pitting two good guys against each other.

As the film clocks in at a hefty 2 hours and 40 minutes, you’d be forgiven for thinking this has been dragged out somewhat. However, this latest installment of the Marvel franchise fills every second with jolting fight scenes and a bevvy of superheroes with weird and wonderful powers.

IndieWire described Civil War as “A soap opera in spandex,” and it’s a pretty accurate description. The writers focus on the inner quarrels between fellow Avengers, Captain America and Iron Man. The former is trying to bring all superheroes under the Sovokia Accords that will try to police the Avengers and minimize the chances of them leaving an unfathomable amount of wreckage behind every time they engage in a battle against evil. While on the other side of table, Captain America wants free reign to use his powers whenever he sees fit.

While Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) decides against signing the Sovokia Accords, Bucky Barnes re-enters the fray albeit as the main culprit for a political assignation. With the king of Wakanda (a fictional land) now dead, it spawns a new superhero that’s also under pursuit of Bucky.

What eschews is an almighty free-for-all. But which side are you taking? Team Cap or Team Iron Man? The marketing geniuses behind Marvel have worked wonders on whipping up the hyperbole and splitting the Marvel fanbase leading up to the film. Comic Book Resources ran a huge poll on what team their readership would dedicate their allegiance to and many other leading film website followed suit to gain search results.

Additionally, Buzzfeed ran an interactive quiz, which would determine ‘Which Team in Captain America: Civil War Do You Belong To?’ through a series of questions regarding pervious Marvel films. The lead up has been extensive to say the least, and even gaming companies have gotten in on the act. Gala Casino which hosts a string of Marvel games including Iron Man 2, Spider-Man, The Avengers and Captain America titles published an article talking about how although Steve Rogers still holds many of his original key elements since his inception he has changed somewhat over his transition from comics to the silver screen. The article discusses Rogers’ characteristics ‘In the Movies vs. In the Comics’, the relationship with Bucky and the role of Nick Fury.

Flexing their marketing muscles has obviously worked as Deadline reports the film took a staggering $200 million in its first weekend. It the process it set new records in Brazil, Philippines and Mexico and it meant Disney/Marvel have took $1.24 billion so far from three titles in 2016 thus far – the other two titles include Zootopia and The Jungle Book.

For the most part, the film is one of the best Marvel have produced. The fight scenes are innovative, and the smattering of new characters, surprise appearances and inner turmoil as new layers to Civil War. While it’s not heavy on humor, it is heavy on iron on iron, and a series of sub-plots that keep fans guessing about the future of the franchise.